...Tomotaka Sakaguchi and Shogo Akada (the top two hitters in the order) went a combined 0-for-10.

...Freddie Bynum entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 9th (for Takeshi Hidaka) and grounded out to first.

...Chihiro Kaneko had a rough start, lasting just 3.2 inning. But that was after he faced one batter over the minimum through the first three innings of the game. Kaneko's problems came in the 4th when he surrendered 7 runs on 6 hits (including two doubles and a home run), 2 walks, and an HBP. Seems he started rushing things after he allowed Takashi Ogino to reach on a single (that also led to a bad pick-off throw that allowed Ogino to advance to second).

Nakayama was competing with a couple of other pitchers, including Masaki Ihara, for the 6th spot in the rotation and apparently impressed Akinobu Okada enough with his last Ni-gun start (vs Softbank on 4/2: 5 IP, 20 BF, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3 ER) to get the nod.